BMW hybrid boosts performance

The 2011 ActiveHybrid 7 sedan will be available starting this spring. BMW has designed the car so that its hybrid system is more about performance than fuel efficiency.

BMW’s second gasoline-electric vehicle line, the 2011 ActiveHybrid 7 sedans, will go on sale this spring with starting prices of $103,125 (including freight) for the regular-length 7 model, and $107,025 for the long-wheelbase version, the 7L, the German luxury automaker says.

As with the $100,000-plus Lexus LS 600h, against which the ActiveHybrid 7 models will compete, the hybrid system in the BMW models is designed to enhance performance more than to boost fuel economy.

These sedans follow the introduction in December of BMW’s first hybrid, the 2010 ActiveHybrid X6. It’s a version of BMW’s X6 “sports activity coupe,” which actually is a five-door sport utility vehicle with the low profile of a coupe.

The ActiveHybrid X6, which begins at $89,725 (with freight), features a 4.4-liter, 400-horsepower twin-turbocharged V-8 gasoline engine and a pair of electric motors, giving it a combined 480 horsepower rating. It comes with a seven-speed automatic transmission. BMW bills it as the most powerful hybrid vehicle on the market.

ActiveHybrid 7 sedans come with an upgraded version of the 4.4-liter twin-turbo V-8, rated at 440 horsepower by itself. It’s combined with a single electric motor that boosts total horsepower to 455. An eight-speed automatic transmission is used in the sedans.

The hybrid models are built on the same body as the newest generation of the 7-series sedans, introduced for 2009, and are designed to give the ultimate driving experience for which BMW is well-known.

Top speed will be limited to 150 mpg, while the zero-to-60 mph time will be 4.7 seconds, BMW says. That compares with a limited top speed of 130 mph for the ActiveHybrid X6 and a zero-to-60 mpg time of 5.4 seconds.

Fuel economy for the ActiveHybrid X6 is officially 17 mpg city/19 highway, which is about 20 percent better than the gasoline-only X6.

No EPA ratings have been released yet for the ActiveHybrid 7, but BMW says it will have up to 17 percent better mileage than the 2010 750i sedan, which is rated at 15 city/22 highway using the 400-horsepower version of the 4.4-liter gasoline engine and a six-speed automatic.

The hybrid drivetrain used in the X6 model is a two-mode system that General Motors, BMW, Mercedes-Benz and Chrysler developed together to compete against the Toyota/Lexus system. It’s able to propel the X6 on electric power only at speeds up to 37 mpg. The two electric motors are rated at 91 and 86 horsepower, respectively.

But the ActiveHybrid 7 is a simpler system with only a single, 20-horsepower electric motor, and it’s not designed to drive on electric power alone. It was developed in partnership with German luxury rival Mercedes.

As with other hybrids, the sedans’ system does automatically stop and restart the gasoline engine when the vehicle pauses at a traffic signal, for instance, and it’s able to keep the air conditioning and other features operating even with the engine stopped.

While the X6′s electric motors get their power from a nickel-metal-hydride battery pack, the 7 sedans use a lithium-ion battery.

In both, the batteries are recharged by a combination of the gasoline engine and regenerative braking, which uses the car’s inertia while slowing down to generate electricity (temporarily converting the electric motor into a generator).

As befitting the flagship 7-series sedan line, the ActiveHybrid 7 has a long list of luxury features.

Among them are 19-inch wheels and tires, an Alcantara headliner, leather dashboard, ventilated active front seats and a premium audio system. Other standard features include a head-up display on the windshield in front of the driver, a rearview camera, soft-close doors and an automatic-closing trunk.

With the limousinelike ActiveHybrid 7L model — which has a wheelbase that is 5.5 inches longer than the regular model — a Luxury Rear Seating Package is available. This is a vehicle that is meant to be driven by a chauffeur, with the passengers riding in style in the living-room-like rear seating area.

The hybrid system includes special displays that monitor the efficiency of the hybrid components.

Special cues on the ActiveHybrid 7 that distinguish it from the gasoline-only 750i sedan include the aerodynamic 10-spoke light-alloy wheels, along with hybrid badges. A unique exterior color also is available — Bluewater Metallic.

The car also comes with run-flat tires, which can be driven at speeds of up to 50 mph for as far as 150 miles after losing all air pressure, BMW says.